6 Notre Dame football players arrested in 2 incidents

Updated on: August 20, 2016 / 4:40 PM
/ AP

INDIANAPOLIS -- Notre Dame cornerback Devin
Butler was jailed Saturday after a police officer said the player punched and
slammed him to the ground outside a bar, and five teammates were arrested in a
separate incident when a trooper found marijuana and a loaded handgun inside
their car during a traffic stop.

Officers had to use a stun gun to
subdue Butler in the altercation outside the Linebacker Lounge in South Bend,
according to a probable cause affidavit.

South Bend police spokesman Lt. Joe
Galea said that after officers broke up a fight inside the bar they saw two
women fighting outside when Butler allegedly shoved one of the women. Butler
was agitated and when officers told him to back away he allegedly pushed the
officers and then attacked one of them.

The affidavit says Butler tackled an
officer to the ground, punched him several times in the side and stomach and
pulled off his duty belt.

“He shouted profanities at the
officers and started swinging his fist,” Galea said of Butler.

The St. Joseph County prosecutor’s
office said Butler faced possible charges of resisting law enforcement and
battery to a police officer, both felonies. Butler was being held at the county
jail on $10,000 surety bond.

But Prosecutor Kenneth P. Cotter said
in a statement Saturday that he’s seeking court approval for additional time to
investigate the case so that his office can “determine whether formal
charges are appropriate.”

The officer Butler allegedly attacked
was taken to a hospital for treatment for minor injuries, including a sore
wrist, South Bend police spokesman Galea said.

According to the affidavit, Butler
apologized while he was being taken to jail, “stating that he had been
incredibly emotional and intoxicated.”

The five other players were arrested
Friday night after Indiana State Police said a trooper stopped a car in Fulton
County about 35 miles south of South Bend for speeding. The trooper detected
the odor of marijuana and with the help of a drug-sniffing dog, he found the
marijuana and handgun, police said.

The university confirmed that those
arrested were: cornerback Ashton White, starting safety Max Redfield, wide
receiver Kevin Stepherson Jr., linebacker Te’von Coney and Dexter Williams,
who’s one of three running backs expected to play regularly for the Irish this
season.

All five were released Saturday
afternoon from the Fulton County Jail in Rochester, where they had been held on
a misdemeanor marijuana possession charge. Redfield, Stepherson and Williams
face an additional misdemeanor charge of possession of an unlicensed handgun.

It was not immediately clear if any of
the six players had attorneys who could comment on their behalf.

Notre
Dame also
confirmed the arrest of Butler, who Irish coach Brian Kelly said in June would
miss the beginning of the season with a broken left foot and could be out until
October.

University spokesman Paul Browne said
in a statement that “any student arrested on a felony charge also faces
dismissal from the university.”

“The university will determine if
additional sanctions should apply to any or all of the students charged,”
his statement said.